Elevator
by Gamerwhogames
Summary: On a stormy day at Craft Town Mall, Jesse and his gang run into the Ocelots. When a heated debate for rights to the elevator ends with each faction crammed inside, he thinks nothing can get worse. Then the power goes out. Can the they bear each other's company in the elevator until someone finds them? IF someone finds them? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

 **Hey, guys! I'm the Gamerwhogames, and welcome to "Elevator"! (nice name, I know). Long story short, some storms came to my hometown and knocked out the power in most of the schools. So, I started thinking about power-outages, and elevators (for some reason), and fanfiction. And here we are! So, I hope you enjoy "Elevator".**

 **To avoid confusion, this one takes place BEFORE the Witherstorm. Jesse and his friends aren't the New Order yet, and the Ocelots are still a thing. Hit it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: (hits it)**

* * *

Rain poured down and soaked Jesse's brown hair. He tagged close by to Axel who held an umbrella over their heads. He bumped into Olivia as they all tried to squeeze underneath. Though rain poured and thunder exploded, they were determined to go to the mall on Saturday. There was a huge weapons-sale at Craft Town Mall and Jesse and Axel were aiming to get themselves some new swords. Olivia wanted some new arrows for her dispensers and she'd take advantage of their half-price sets.

Jesse clutched his backpack close as they neared the store. Olivia sent him a worried look. "Are you sure they're even gonna let you take that in, Jesse?"

"Of course, they are, Olivia. It's just a backpack."

"With a _pig_ inside." Axel added. Jesse frowned, especially when Reuben squealed along to the conversation. Jesse hadn't been able to stand leaving Reuben alone at the treehouse while they went out. When he had suggested taking him with them to the mall, Olivia had her objections. Their debate wore on for a good ten minutes, much to Axel's boredom. The battle was fierce—even Reuben had oink in his defense—but Jesse emerged victorious. There was no way they were going to leave Reuben at home this time, much less in the middle of this huge thunderstorm.

"How do you know they're not gonna check it?" Axel asked. His words made Jesse clutch his backpack a bit tighter.

"They won't, guys." Jesse said, a hint of worry in his cool tone. "Just keep quiet, Reuben." He whispered to his pig friend as they walked into the mall. Inside, Axel folded the umbrella and shook off the excess water. The store's air-conditioning chilled their wet skin and clothes, making them wish they'd worn jackets. Jesse looked around the bright store before he saw two security guards walking past them. Even though the officers didn't notice his backpack, Jesse shrank back with fear. He was more than sure the store had—and enforced—a no-pet policy. He began to regret bringing Reuben until thunder sounded from outside. Maybe this was for the better, he thought, breathing out his worry in a little huff.

While Olivia was off buying herself arrows, bows and various Redstone knickknacks, Axel and Jesse searched the store's vast inventory of weaponry. They looked through rows and rows of beautiful, handcrafted swords for what seemed like hours. They stopped a few times for a bite to eat. Axel bought himself some gum and candy, and Jesse would occasionally pop a baby-carrot into his backpack for Reuben to snack on.

Soon, Olivia joined them and they searched as a group. As many swords as were available, however, Jesse and Axel couldn't find anything to suit them—or their budget. Even at a fraction of the price, the valuable swords rang a high cost. Jesse held a blue, diamond-sword, styled with sharp, jagged obsidian around the handle and blade, making the weapon look as if it was crafted by Mother Nature herself.

"That one's beautiful." Olivia said, running a finger across the cool, black stone. Jesse grinned in awe.

"This has got to be the coolest sword I've ever…." His voice trailed off as he laid eyes on the price-tag. His smile curled into a guffaw and he quickly put the sword down. "That is the ugliest thing I've ever seen in my life." Axel and Olivia tried—and failed—to hold back their laughter. Jesse smiled at his own joke.

"Why don't we go see what they have upstairs? I think they've got some axes on the third-floor we could look at." Axel suggested.

"Sounds good." Jesse's eyes trailed around the room, locating the nearest escalator. Seeing it was full of people, he looked for an elevator and quickly found one. "Let's go, guys." He and his friends quickly rushed over, eager to see what else the store had to offer. At the elevator, Jesse pressed the "up" button. As they waited, he heard footsteps. He looked in their direction, and his heart plummeted lower than the first floor. He could feel their perfect Saturday coming to a quick halt as he stared back at the Ocelots.

His eyes met with Aiden's first, and the Ocelot gave a hard, demeaning scowl that made his blood pump to his ears. Everything seemed to go still around him. Even Olivia and Axel were caught in the silent showdown of glares, witty smirks and burning eyes. Lukas timidly stepped past Jesse, muttering a quick, awkward 'excuse me' as he reached for the "up" button as well.

Aiden gave a loud scoff, not noticing Lukas's resulting glare. Like Jesse, Lukas was also fed up with Aiden's behavior, however well he tried to hide his anger. "Are we seriously going to share an escalator with _these_ dweebs?"

"Well, Aiden, if you don't want to ride with us, you can wait your turn." Axel growled back, towering over the brunette. Aiden grinned mockingly. Maya pushed past Aiden and stepped forward, a domineering frown on her face.

"No, _you_ can wait your turn." She looked right at Olivia, eyes flashing with eagerness to strike. "Ladies first." Deciding it wasn't worth her efforts, Olivia pretended not to hear Maya's snide words and delicately looked away.

"Dear Notch. Are you guys ever _not_ sour?!" Jesse hissed.

"Are you ever _not_ a loser?" Aiden growled back.

"Aiden! That's _enough_!" The sound of Lukas yelling made them all go quiet. For an instant, it seemed like the entire store was shaken with shock and quiet. Aiden sent Jesse a glare before he reluctantly stepped back. Silence mingled with raindrops and light thunder as they waited for the elevator. No one made eye-contact, but they could all feel the tension thick in the air. Momentarily, a loud 'ding' rang out. The door slowly creaked its way open, begging a high-strung challenger to enter in. Both groups stood stock still, akin to nervous cowboys in a heated showdown. Even Reuben had stopped moving.

At first, Jesse expected Aiden to bolt for the doors. He expected a huge fight for the privilege of being first in line. He did _not_ expect silence and stillness. He stared warily into Aiden's green eyes, finding that they were both equally unnerved and confused by the sudden calmness. The entire store was robbed of all sound except for the rumbling of the rain and the beating of their hearts. Jesse's eyes flicked around the room. Everyone was glaring intently at someone. Why wasn't anyone moving? Jesse's eyes met with Aiden's again. Their unsettled gazes quickly melted into hard, competitive glares. The calm before the storm was coming to a fast end.

Jesse blinked.

Gill exploded for the elevator, nearly knocking Aiden over in the process. Energy jolted into Jesse's legs and he lunged right after him. In a flurry of running feet and pushy arms, Jesse and Gill soon found themselves squashed in the back of the elevator. It was large enough for them to stand and keep their personal space, but the fighting and yelling and shoving made it feel cramped. 'We were here first' and 'First come, first serve' flew back and forth between them, along with more colorful phrases and words. Squashed in the back and in no mood for a fight, Jesse decided it was his turn to shout at someone. Even if it was a roomful of friends and bullies.

"Everyone, stop fighting!" He yelled. He was more than relieved that his cry had caught their attention. That was one of the perks of not shouting on a normal basis—It was effective at shutting _everyone_ up. Even his enemies, something that surprised him. They all watched as Jesse forced his way to the panel of buttons. "Lukas," suddenly his tone was polite, almost motherly, but they could all feel the spite laced in his words. "Which floor are you going to?"

"Third floor." His tone held the same impatience for his own friends that Jesse had for them as Ocelots.

"Wow. What a coincidence. So are we." He jammed the number three. The doors slid closed and Jesse slowly turned around. "Now we're all going to the third floor, and we're going to behave like _normal people_." He said, not caring that no one answered him. He didn't want an answer. He wanted silence.

Like it always did, Jesse's stomach fluttered as the elevator went up. But he didn't know if it was the elevator, or his own unnerve. As his emotions cooled down, the reality that he'd hollered at the Ocelots began to settle. As much as they deserved it, it still made him slightly uncomfortable. It felt no better that he also shouted at his friends. He sighed, just glad the yelling had been worth the sweet silence.

Thunder boomed outside as the elevator creaked to a shaky stop. They waited in silence for the door to open. After a few seconds of standing, Jesse and Lukas exchanged worried glances. Lukas scooted through the group to press the door-button. The door didn't open. Feeling fear and sweat gradually crawling across his neck, he clicked away at the button. His stomach knotted as he turned around to face them with a nervous grin.

"Um… I hate to be the bearer of bad news—"

"Then don't. Please just… don't." Gill's voice was more than worried.

"It _stopped_?!" Maya's shriek tore through the silence. "Why did it stop?" She dug her hands into her brown, short hair as panic overtook her.

"Everybody, calm down!" Lukas stammered, his voice barely convincing of his own calmness.

Axel rammed through them to the doors, further irking the already excited Ocelots. "Somebody, help! It stopped!" Axel shouted, slamming his fists on the doors.

Olivia massaged the bridge of her nose, trying not to let her fear and frustration get the best of her. "Axel, that is not going to work."

"What happened?" Jesse asked himself. The lights were still on. Didn't that mean anything? Just as he thought it, the lights flickered out. He groaned in frustration, putting his head in his hands as they frenzied and rambled on.

"Does anyone have a phone?" Olivia asked. As the others checked their pockets, something shifted in Jesse's backpack, tickling his back. Reuben! He'd forgotten was in there the entire time! He quickly took it off and unzipped it, praying the "mosh-party" hadn't injured Reuben in any way.

"Jesse, you have a phone?" Axel asked. Suddenly—whether he noticed or not—Jesse was the center of everyone's attention. A ray of hope in the dark elevator. The eagerness on their faces was dashed as they watched Jesse pulled Reuben into a hug, instead of holding up a phone. Gill squinted his eyes in disbelief.

"You brought a _whole_ _pig_ with you, but no phone?!" He shouted, his loud voice bouncing off the walls and hitting everyone in the ears. Jesse glared at him in the darkness, holding a growling, tempered Reuben close.

"Oh, careful, Gill. Reuben's mad at you." Aiden joked. Jesse could almost feel him sneering in the darkness.

A flash of light caught their attention, and they looked to see Maya holding a phone. "Hang on, guys. I've got my phone." She tapped some buttons on the screen and put the phone to her ear. Relief fell over the entire room. They would be saved, Jesse thought, and they could all forget this ever happened. He wouldn't be in a cramped elevator with his number-one bullies anymore. They could all get far away from them.

A frown fell across Maya's face and she pulled the phone away from her ear. She didn't notice the whole room's eyes on her. Each of their hearts hammered and flip-flopped and stammered as she frantically redialed.

"There's no signal." An unnerving silence spilled into the elevator, riding a chilly draft from the vents. She looked at her phone again. "And my phone's almost dead."

Suddenly, Lukas missed the elevator music, and any sound in general. The silence seemed to close in on him with the darkness, making his skin crawl. Questions bombarded him and made his head spin. He leaned on the wall, clutching the silver railing with a sweaty hand. He had plenty of reasons to be afraid, but one seemed to really stick out. Being stuck in a room, much less a tiny one, with the two opposing teams made his knuckles clench. The arguing, the jeers, the jokes. All of it was unnecessary and annoying. And he'd have to bear all of it for who knew how long! Just thinking about it made his head pound.

"So… we're stuck in an elevator today." He breathed.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **And there you have chapter one of "Elevator"! I hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to favorite and follow! You'll want to be around to see what becomes of these two rivaling factions!** **I had so much fun writing this, especially the elevator-showdown. That one gave me the giggles!**

 **I'll be responding to reviews in the next chapter, so keep them coming! Talk to me about your favorite part, or what you think might happen next! I love your feedback and constructive critique! Once again, thanks for reading!**

 **Well, close it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: Okay! (closes it)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

 **Heya, guys! And welcome back to "Elevator"! Today, things might be a bit different. I'm going to be switching up my writing style just a tad bit. I dunno. I just have this hunch that I use too many words to describe everything. I'm gonna try to use less words. If you read any of my other stories, you might notice the shift there too. Well, let's see some reviews!**

 **Ariza Luca: Thanks! Glad you like it!**

 **Meow Shadow: Got that error fixed. Yeah, it's good to be writing something a bit lighter. It's good to cheer myself and you guys up!**

 **RapidSammi: I'm trying to go for ten chapters at most. This isn't supposed to be too long.**

 **Emily The Avenger: Awesome! Here you go!**

 **Hit it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: (hits it)**

* * *

"We're seriously stuck?" Aiden asked.

"Yep." Lukas replied.

"How long?" He asked seconds later. It was bad enough there was no sense of personal space anymore. But if Aiden was going to keep these questions up, Lukas was going to lose his mind sooner than he hoped.

"Until someone finds us." He said, his voice thick with tension. He felt relieved when Aiden didn't ask anything else.

On the floor, Jesse held onto Reuben. If they were going to be stuck for a while (something he hoped wasn't the case), at least he had someone to pass the time with! He felt Olivia sit next to him. He wrapped an arm around her and leaned onto her shoulder. Her sweaty odor made his nose scrunch. Now that he noticed, her shoulder was bulkier and harder than he remembered. That anxiety was doing a real number on her! He'd never seen such a case of fight-or-flight in his life!

"Get off!" Gill shouted in Jesse's ear, pushing him over. Jesse held onto Reuben, glaring at Gill in the darkness. One side of him wanted to shove him back. But the other was too shocked to do anything.

"Sorry. I thought you were Olivia."

Standing on the other side of the elevator, Olivia flinched at Jesse's words. Someone had an arm around her, and it wasn't Jesse! She squirmed out of the mystery-man's hold, feeling quite uncomfortable.

"Aww, why'd you let go, Maya?" Aiden whispered into her ear. Her eyes widened in shock. "You know I liked that." Olivia held back a gag. What had she done to deserve this?

"Aiden, who are you talking to? I'm over here!" Maya shouted angrily. That was quite enough adventure for one day, Olivia thought. She reeled around Jesse and Gill, squashing some unlucky hands in the process as she darted to the other wall. Aiden listened to her go, mouth hanging open with shock and disgust. He was about to cuddle… with _her_?

"Okay. We _seriously_ need to get some lights." Axel said. That was something even the Ocelots agreed with. They all checked their pockets for something useful. Suddenly, a tiny flame sparked to life! They looked at Lukas who held a lighter at arm's length. He squinted as the yellow glow illuminated his face.

"Lukas, why do you have a cigar-lighter?" Maya asked. Gill snorted.

"It's just a _lighter_. Doesn't have to be a _cigar_ -lighter." He said drolly. They couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or just annoyed. Her eyes on the flame, Olivia sheepishly cleared her throat. Her skin crawled at the sneers and glares Maya, Aiden and Gill sent her. She barely noticed her friends and Lukas who gave kind looks.

She tried her best to focus on Lukas. "I'm not trying to be rude, but do you mind turning that off? You're… kind of burning whatever oxygen we have left." Shock spelled across their faces right before Lukas snapped out the fire. She felt around her pockets. She did not want to be in the darkness any longer. She turned up with a Redstone block and a button. She placed them down and pressed the button. Warm, bright light filled the room, along with smiles and glares.

"You could've done that a _lot_ sooner, you know." He complained, still upset about their hug from earlier. Though she agreed with him, she wasn't going to give him the pleasure of seeing her frown. Not that she could've anyways. Because just as they started getting comfortable, the lights flickered out. Great. Darkness, again. She jabbed the button. This was going to be a long day.

Aiden was starting to get bored, as if _starting_ was even the word. He'd been bored all day, but at least he wasn't stuck in an elevator like he was now. He needed something exciting to do, to calm his frayed nerves. He glanced around the room before his eyes landed on Jesse. Bingo! A smirk crawled across his face. Bothering Jesse was something that never failed to make him laugh. And it wouldn't fail now, either. He lightly elbowed Gil. "Watch this." He whispered.

Jesse made sure to keep Reuben at arm's reach. Away from those Ocelots. He wasn't too worried about Maya or Lukas. They fought with words, not fists. It was Aiden and Gill who bothered him. Who knew what they'd try! If they laid a finger on Reuben, that was it, Jesse swore. Bye-bye Aiden and Gill.

"Hey, Jesse!" Aiden called in his smug tone. Jesse glared at him, eyes smoldering. His jaw tightened, just a side effect from longtime exposure to the arrogance. "Good to see you keeping an eye on dinner." He said with a chuckle. Jesse groaned on the inside. That's when he realized he wasn't just tired of Aiden. He was tired of his jokes! Aiden only joked about Reuben as food a few-thousand times. His head lolled and he rolled his eyes.

"Oh, how _original_. I did _not_ see that one coming." He said, his voice full of sarcasm. He turned to play with Reuben. Aiden's nose twitched with rage as he folded his arms. He started to walk towards Jesse, ready to roast him to kingdom come, but Gill grabbed his arm, holding him back.

"What, Gill?" He growled through clenched teeth. Gill pointed across the room to Lukas who gave them both an icy, blue-eyed stare. But this wasn't just any stare. It was the Mom-Stare. It was something cold and ugly that would silently burn anyone into perfect order and submission. But Aiden's will would not be broken so easily. He shrugged with a glare, trying to get it across that he'd done nothing. The blonde's stare intensified, making even Gill squirm. Lukas was _not_ about to play Aiden's innocence-game. Aiden gradually looked away, folding his arms like a child. Like everyone who'd seen it, Aiden could not stand firm under the all-powerful Mom-Stare.

Lukas gazed wistfully at the doors, wishing he could Mom-Stare them open. He hoped the power would come back on, and soon! He shifted impatiently, counting to ten a few times in his head. But the longer he stared, the more hopeless it seemed. Bored, he glanced at Maya hoping to find something interesting. And, boy, he did!

She was posing and smiling at her camera-phone, snapping multiple pictures. She then tapped a few buttons and a 'ding' noise sounded. She held her phone out, taking some more pictures. Lukas felt anger bubble to his chest. How could she be so ignorant? Didn't she say her battery was nearly dead, too? He needed to act soon!

He sucked in a slow, deliberate breath that caught everyone's attention. He focused on Maya, who was still absorbed in her phone. "Maya." She looked up, a bit shocked by the firmness in his tone. "Exactly _what_ are you doing?" He tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. But his innards were a whole other story.

"Uploading some selfies to FaceBlock." She said casually before her screen went black. "Crap. Battery's dead." Lukas gave a deadpan frown, holding back a groan. Maya looked up to see everyone staring at her as if she'd kissed a zombie. "What?"

"You were uploading selfies." Lukas said.

"Yes…?"

"To the _Internet_."

"Yeah, that's what 'uploading' _means_." Lukas stopped to look her in the eye. How was she _not_ catching onto this? Was it really that complicated?

"So there was a signal."

"Yeah." No comprehension whatsoever.

"And _now_ , your _phone_ is _dead_."

"Yes! Why are you talking in fragments, Lukas?! Is that a new fad or…?" Her voice trailed off, and their glares began to make sense. She looked at her phone, then back up. A ton of sense.

Aiden smirked at Gill, nudging him in the shoulder. Gill groaned quietly, reaching into his pocket and handing Aiden the money from their bet. "Told you so." Aiden whispered.

Maya looked at Lukas. "Maya, we've talked about this." He said shakily, a single tear streaming down his face. Maya's eyes darted around the room. There had to be a plug somewhere. But there wasn't one. Suddenly, the Redstone's red glare caught her eye. She rushed over to it with a wide smile. She placed her phone on its surface, beaming at just how clever her fix was.

"There!"

Jesse and Reuben squinted at her phone. Why'd she put it there? Jesse looked to Olivia for a clue. The Redstone engineer was staring in horror at Maya's knowledge (or lack thereof) of basic Redstone. Never in her life had she seen such a display of stupidity, followed up by _another_ display of stupidity! She gulped, looking right at Maya.

"What is this?"

"It's charging!" She said arrogantly. Olivia's mouth dropped open. She sat, speechless. It was official. Olivia was surrounded by idiots.

Gill smirked at Aiden, nudging _him_ in the ribs. Growling audibly, Aiden shoved the cash back to Gill. "Told you so."

"Maya… that's not how it works." Olivia said. Pouting a bit, Maya grabbed her phone and put it into her pocket.

Lukas wiped away a tear or two. As badly as Maya's deeds hurt him, he knew he needed to move on. Everyone was starting to get tense, and he knew he wouldn't have enough Mom-Stares for everyone. Maybe a game would do them some good. "Okay," He sniffled. "Who wants to play a game or something?"

"Me!" Maya chided. If it was going to take everyone's mind off her mistake _and_ give her a good time, it was definitely a go. Soon, Aiden and Gill agreed to play. Lukas glanced at Jesse. He sat on the floor, with Reuben, of course. But he was frowning, no doubt feeling left out.

"You guys wanna play, Jesse?" He asked, catching Jesse by surprise.

"Why would _we_ wanna play with _you guys_?" Axel asked with disgust in his tone.

"I could ask you the same!" Gill butted in. Olivia bravely stepped out, smiling at Lukas.

"I'd like to play." She said, followed by Jesse. Gill rolled his eyes.

"If they're playing, I'm not."

"Me neither." Aiden said. They both walked to a side of the elevator, leaning on the wall. Lukas sent them a sorry look. As much as he wanted them to join, though, he wasn't going to force them to play.

"So, what're we playing?" Maya asked.

"Okay, so we're going to tell a story, but we only get to say one sentence at a time. Jesse, you can start us off."

"Alright! Once upon a time there was…." He looked around the room, thinking of something to say. He looked at Reuben and smiled. "A pig!"

"Who died." Aiden snapped.

"And he turned into a ghost and haunted some ocelots." Axel barked back.

"Okay! End of story!" Lukas shouted, throwing his hands in the air. Axel sneered at Aiden. It felt good to have the last laugh, or sentence. Lukas regretted suggesting the game. His plan was already starting to backfire, and they hadn't even gotten started!

"Once upon a time, there was a puppy." Gill said. Aiden sent him a flat look. "What? There _was_ a puppy."

"Then it died as well." Aiden said drolly. Gill frowned.

"Oh."

"Okay, let's tell a different story." Maya said. "And no dead animals, Aiden."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So, they're gonna tell some stories! About what, though? That shall be answered** _ **later**_ **! Had lots of fun writing this chapter, and I can't wait for the next one. Also, I think the new writing style's okay. Hopefully, it seems more catered to you readers, and less wordy.**

 **Which part was funnier? The mix-up in the beginning, or Maya's phone incident? Let me know in a review! I'll be responding next chapter! Speaking of funny parts, I lol'd when Aiden and Gill were betting on Maya. Is she that predictable, or were they feeling lucky?**

 **Well, thanks for reading, following and favving, and I'll see you next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, everyone! And Happy Resurrection Sunday (if you celebrate it)! Today, you're getting an exciting update of "Elevator"! So, let's hit a few of those reviews!**

 **KingKahin99: Thanks! Glad you like the new style. And I think I'd meet Steve Harvey. He seems like a really, nice, fun guy. I like watching "Family Feud" when my grandma comes over, and sometimes "The Steve Harvey Show", so I've grown to like him and his sense of humor. Thanks for the question, too. It was a fun one to try and answer.**

 **DynamiteHunter6: Cool! And hold that thot….**

 **RapidSammi: He was a bit upset. Hopefully he gets better.**

 **Guest: On it!**

 **RebekahTPE: Forgot to say this at first, but the Mom-Stare was inspired by my older sister. She's part of a worship band, and when the other members start acting up, she just stares them back into place. I just** _ **had**_ **to add the part in. And I think I'd rather walk into a wall than a tree. Trees may not bite, but they've got quite the bark! (Eh?)**

 **Well, hit it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: (hits it)**

* * *

"Okay, I'll start… again." Lukas said. "Um," he paused, thinking of a way to start their story. "Once… there was a cat named Bob." He said. (to DynamiteHunter6: There yah go)! He looked around the room, waiting for someone else (not Aiden) to add to the story.

"One day, Bob found a minecart." Maya said.

"A pink minecart, powered by cuteness." Olivia said.

"So, Bob went and found the cutest thing he could find." Jesse said.

Axel shot him a mischievous grin. "The cutest thing he could find was his adorable cat butt." He said, making the others, save Aiden and Gill, laugh.

"So, he sat in the minecart, which was powered by his butt." Lukas said. Now it was time to restart the rotation, so it was Maya's turn again.

"Bob rode into the city and met… a pirate."

"Named Petra." Everyone slowly looked at Olivia. She shrugged. "I'm sorry. It's the bandana."

"Okay," Jesse continued, "he met a pirate named Petra, but Petra got offended because he thought she was a pirate."

"So, Petra made him sit in timeout for five minutes." Axel said.

"But when he sat in the minecart, it started rolling off." Lukas said.

"It rolled into a cuteness-contest, one that Bob was gonna win." Maya added.

"And it won by showing off its adorable cat butt." Olivia said.

"The prize was a trillion dollars." Jesse said.

"And he wasted it on cheese." Axel said.

"But he used the cheese to build a Cheese-Orphanage for a bunch of cheese-kids."

"But on the opening day, the Cheese-Orphanage melted, flooding the town with cheese."

"To avoid government consequence, Bob rode away in his butt-powered minecart."

"To get revenge, Petra joined the CIA so she could hunt him down."

"But she drowned in cheese, so…."

"Her last words were: Cheese is in my mouth!"

"The end."

"But wait! There's more!"

"No, Olivia. There's no more." Jesse said.

A few minutes passed, but it felt like years as they waited, their feet growing sweaty and numb. Storytime wasn't doing its job of keeping them from the unbearable boredom. When was the power going to come back on? They could still hear the quiet rumble of rain outside, giving them their answer: Probably never.

"Guys," Lukas said, catching their attention, "Does anyone want cookies?" He asked, pulling one out of his pocket.

"Sure, if you have enough." Jesse said. The others said yes, as well. Lukas handed Jesse a cookie. Then Axel. Then Maya. Then Gill and Aiden. Then Olivia. Then Reuben. Then he pulled two for himself while they all stared on in surprise. Except for Gill, who glared.

"How come _you_ get an extra cookie?" He muttered. Lukas shot him an apologetic look.

"Sorry. Here you go," he reached into his pocket to give Gill another cookie. Then Aiden. Then Axel. Then Maya. Then Olivia. Then Reuben. Then Jesse. When he was finished passing out the may cookies, he had a room full of gaping eyeballs staring him down. He squirmed a bit. "What? You guys want more?" He asked, reaching into his pocket. Before they could protest, he went around and handed everyone another cookie each. Man, they were selfish. Now they had _three_ and he only had _two_. He reached into his pocket and grabbed another one for himself. But they were still staring. What was wrong with them? Were they really that hungry. He reached into his pockets again.

"NO!" Everyone yelled, making him flinch and drop about ten cookies. He leaned down to pick them up, wondering why they yelled.

"Lukas," Aiden began, "when did you buy all these cookies? Where are you even keeping them? Why?"

"I didn't buy them. In my pockets. And because I _want_ to."

"So, you just _keep_ thirty-four cookies in your right pocket? How do they fit?!" Aiden shouted, more than bothered by Lukas's pockets. Jesse, Olivia and even Axel shied back to let the boys settle their differences. The difference being that Aiden had pockets, and Lukas had infinite pockets.

"Who said it was thirty-four?! Why are you yelling at me?!"

"Please don't answer my questions with questions." Aiden said, quieting his voice some. Gill walked over to Lukas, thrusting a hand into his pockets. Everyone went silent as Gill fingered around.

"Gill," Lukas began, "what even—" Gill went to the next pocket.

"There's nothing in here." He said.

"Of course, there is! Look!" Lukas said, reaching into the very same pocket and pulling out a handful of cookies. Gill staggered back, looking at his hand like he'd touched a corpse.

"What sorcery is this?" Aiden hissed.

"Not sorcery. I'm just good with personal spaces." He said with a shrug. "You know how I always keep my room cleaner than everyone's?"

"Lukas, please," Maya interrupted, "for starters, _I_ have the cleanest room. And a clean room has nothing to do with this." She said, gesturing to his pockets. Lukas rolled his eyes.

"Fine, whatever. Can we just eat cookies and not worry about my pockets?"

Everyone went to quietly eating their cookies, even if it was done under a cloud of suspicion. Lukas tried to ignore the unsettled stares he was given by everyone, but overall, he regretted giving them cookies. Who knew something so delicious and sweet could cause a silence so gross and bitter? And you'd think they'd be _impressed_ at his cookie tricks. Apparently not. Can't please anyone these days. Not even with a pocket full of cookies.

"So," Gill said, finally breaking the silence, "did I mention the weather's nice?" Everyone in the room turned to glare at him, but that's when they noticed.

"Did it stop raining?" Jesse asked. They all listened closely. Surely enough, the soft rumble in the ambience was gone. "It stopped raining!" He exclaimed.

"Then why isn't the power back on?" Axel asked. Right on cue, thunder roared outside, and they heard the rain pouring. Everyone groaned.

Aiden sank to the floor, a hopeless from on his face. He was so close to being out of that wretched elevator, but now he was stuck in there for who knows how long. After a few minutes of solemn silence, he heard Olivia suggest another one of those stupid games. To his amazement, Gill actually decided to join. But not because they were friends, he said, but because he was bored. Swell. Now Aiden was surrounded by losers _and_ had no one to talk to.

As they played their game, the 'choices' game, he slipped out a notebook and a pen. He flipped past his "elaborate" doodles until he found a blank page. Writing seemed like an enjoyable way to pass the time. But what to write about? Getting stuck in the elevator? Lukas's weird pocket-tricks? As if he wasn't bored enough already, now he had writer's block on his side. This was going to be a long second wait. He started to scribble down a few sentences.

 _Ever wanted to rip your hair out because you were stuck in an elevator? I want to rip all of my hair out. I am stuck in an elevator._ No. Too blunt. He scribbled it out.

 _There are some moments when you want to go to sleep. But you can't. You are stuck in an elevator. And you are going to die of boredom._ Too dark. He scribbled that out, too.

 _Sometimes, Lukas is really scary._ True, but not quite the way he wanted to start things. He hesitated, then scribbled it out. He thought a moment more.

 _If you're not stuck in an elevator, don't take it for granted. You never know when the elevator's going to freeze. Then you'll be stuck with a bunch of losers—_ He stopped writing when Reuben's sloppy, wet nose sniffed his hand. He gently, albeit annoyedly, shoved him away— _and a smelly pig._

He took a moment to look at his work. So far, this was turning out to be quite the autobiography. He glanced to his side and saw that Reuben was still there. Was he glaring, or just staring intently at him? Aiden couldn't tell. And he didn't care.

"Go on, shoo!" He whispered, flicking Reuben away with his hand. Reuben gave him a low, rumbling snort that confused Aiden. What was this pig up to? And when was he leaving? Aiden picked up the cookie beside him, holding it under Reuben's snout. "You want the cookie? Go get the cookie." He said, tossing it a few inches away. Reuben didn't even flinch. He only glared back, as if to say 'I'm not that stupid'. Aiden returned the look. "You know what? I'm not going let a _pig_ bother me." He said, focusing on his book. He heard Reuben snort softly and walk off.

 _A_ feisty _, smelly pig._ He scribbled angrily. Frustrated, he erased most of what he'd written. This was going nowhere. Very quickly. If that light didn't come on soon, and the elevator didn't go up, he was going to explode. Possibly literally. He felt it, the pressure of anger deep within. It grew and burned until it was almost unbearable. His eyes widened in shock. No. This was _not_ happening.

That explosive pressure he was feeling wasn't anger. It was the call of Mother Nature.

It was official. They needed to get out of that elevator as soon as possible.

* * *

 **So, there you have it, folks!**

 **Mother Nature called Aiden. Will he answer, or will she have to shout a little louder? Find out next time in "Elevator"!**

 **If Thor were to drop his hammer in there, and the elevator went up… is the elevator worthy?**

 **Now, for the rest of those reviews! There were so many, I had to divide them between ANs. Thanks, everyone!**

 **Ariza Luca: Glad you liked it! Hope this one made you laugh, too.**

 **Emily The Avenger: Thank you!**

 **Beli0304: Glad you liked the "Mom-Stare". And I hope you enjoyed Bob's adventure.**

 **Meow Shadow: Yeah, guess I got too shippy with that cuddle situation. And don't worry about Aiden's sense of humor: Since Aiden killed all of Mother Nature's beautiful animals, she will take care of him. XD**

 **Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next update!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, guys! I, the Gamerwhogames, am back! Sorry about such the long wait. I had this huge fight with Writer's Block and Schedule, and they almost got me! But I scared them away with some violent keyboard-slamming techniques! Hiyah! I'll review the reviews (lol) after the story, so you can get to reading in a jiffy! Hit it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: (hits it)**

* * *

Looking back, maybe drinking three cans of soda and a whole Slurpee without taking a bathroom-break wasn't such a good idea.

Aiden pulled his legs up to his chest as he sat in the corner of the elevator, hoping no one would notice him constantly crossing and uncrossing his legs. Why was this happening to him and not Jesse? This wasn't going to be good for his reputation at all! Now he was starting to feel glad they'd all decided to pay attention to their dumb game, leaving them no time to question his discomforted face. He opened his book, trying to focus on its empty pages instead of his… condition.

As he read, he heard footsteps approaching him and looked up to see Lukas walking towards him. _Great_. Company.

"Aiden, why are you sitting like that?" He asked. Aiden looked down at his legs and frowned. He'd crossed them again.

He sent Lukas a fake smile, casually uncrossing his legs. "No reason." He lied.

"Oh, okay." Lukas said, taking a seat. He glanced at Aiden's book, holding back the urge to be too nosy. "So, what're you working on?"

"Not much, really. Just trying to get my mind off… this." He said, lightly gesturing to the elevator. "Being stuck in here with all these people. It's getting annoyingly cramped. I can barely _breathe_!"

"Yeah." Lukas muttered, looking at his own knees. "You know, instead of being upset about it, why not look at things optimistically? At least we're not in here by ourselves."

"But we're also stuck with _these_ losers. What good is that?"

"Well, I thought Maya, Gill and I, at least, were getting along well with them. It's actually been kind of fun."

Aiden pretended to gag. "I can't believe you're _saying_ that." He said, making Lukas chuckle softly.

"I'm not saying you _have_ to talk with them, or even be friends, but it's just a suggestion." He said. But when he looked back at Aiden, he noticed the brunette shifting and squirming where he sat, legs crossed once again. "Aiden, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm not dying." He joked in a slightly strained voice, forcing himself to sit still.

"Dying?" Gill asked, walking over to him. One look at his friend, bearing down even the slightest bit, made his heart leap in terror. "Aiden! You're _dying_?!" He shouted in his loud voice, catching the attention of everyone in the room. Maya rushed to Gil's side, a look of horror on her suddenly pale face.

"No! I'm—"

"If you were dying, why didn't you tell us?" Maya exclaimed. "What do you have? Did you wash your hands?" She gave a loud gasp, her hand flying to her mouth. "What if _we_ have it, too? What if… we're already dead?"

Aiden facepalmed, groaning in frustration. "Maya! Calm the heck down! I'm not dying! Geez!"

"Then why are you sitting like that? You look like you're in pain!" Gill shouted before Olivia walked beside him. She scanned Aiden over.

"Actually, he looks fine." She said. Aiden sent her an annoyed glare. "He looks like he's been scowling since he's left the womb, but he still looks fine." She muttered to herself as she looked away.

"I'm fine, everyone." Aiden growled.

"Then why are you sitting like that?" Gill asked.

"It's nothing! Now everyone turn around and leave me alone!" He demanded. The anger and spite in his voice brought quick results, and everyone immediately found interest in the walls. Even Lukas, who was still sitting right next to the fuming brunette. "Thank you." He said, his voice full of spite. "I really wouldn't mind if we got out of here soon." He complained.

"I wonder how long it's gonna be." Gill said. He listened closely for the rain, but didn't hear anything. "I think the rain's stopped, but why isn't the power on?"

"Maybe it's stalling or something." Olivia said. "How long have we been in here, anyways?"

"Long enough!" Maya shouted. "Can't you just do nerd things to the elevator or something? Don't you have something in your backpack?" She asked Olivia.

"Hey! Don't pin this on me." Olivia said with a glare.

"What? It's just a joke. No need to get mad, or are you always this serious?" She asked. Olivia rolled her eyes and looked away. Even if they _were_ starting to get along, it was still difficult for Olivia to tell if her bully was jabbing or joking. Right now, it felt a lot like jabbing to Olivia.

"How long should we expect to wait, anyways?" Axel asked, scooting to the door. "It's starting to feel cramped in here."

"Well, once I read about this guy in the news." Jesse said. "He was stuck in the elevator for about a week with nothing but water. He survived, but I wonder what it was like."

"Actually, there was this _other_ guy stuck in an elevator for a month." Gill said. Everyone looked at him with shock.

"Really?" Maya asked timidly.

"Yeah. He died of dehydration three days later, so the only thing left of him was a shriveled-up corpse!" He looked around the room, mentally counting the number of people and virtually ignoring their horrified looks. "If we die and someone finds us, that'll be seven corpses and a dried-up pig!" He said as if that was the dandiest thing in the world to notice.

Olivia put a hand to her suddenly dry throat. "Did anybody bring water?" She asked, starting to freak out. "Is anyone else starting to feel thirsty?"

"Calm down, Olivia. I'm pretty sure someone's going to find us before the day's over, let alone three." Lukas said, his voice calm and steady. He shot a glare at Gill. "But really, though."

"Sorry, guys."

"But you didn't answer my first question. Did anyone bring water?" She asked again. Silence fell around the room, accompanied by the soft sound of them checking their pockets. When they faced her with sorry looks, she knew the answer. "No one has water?"

"Well, no. But instead of worrying about dehydrating, why don't we all… think… hydrating thoughts?" Jesse asked. Aiden's eyes widened with fear, but he kept his gaze fixed on the floor. The last thing he needed was to think hydrating thoughts. Just thinking about thinking about hydrating thoughts was already making things worse!

"Good idea, Jesse." Axel said. "Think about… huge _waterfalls_ , just tumbling down a mountainside into a pool of fresh, blue water!" He said, waving his hands around to imitate waves.

"He said _think_ hydrating thoughts, you douche! Not say them out loud!" Aiden yelled at Axel.

"Oh, shut up you, big grouch!" Axel snapped back, surprising everyone in the room with his suddenly harsh attitude, especially Aiden. Seeing he was too stunned to respond, Axel continued. "Now, as I was saying, imagine huge waterfalls, just—"

"Yeah, yeah, you already said that!" Aiden said after snapping out of his trance.

"Calm down, Aiden. We're just talking about water to stay hydrated." Lukas said, a bit of annoyance in his tone. "Besides, it's better if we talk about it out loud, you know, to keep our thoughts _flowing smoothly_."

"See what 'cha did there!" Jesse said, flashing gun-signs at Lukas.

"My turn!" Gill said. "Imagine a huge, grey cloud approaching you, and when it starts raining these humongous raindrops just fall and hit you right in the face. It's so wet and rainy that puddles start showing up everywhere, and the water just won't stop running!"

"Seriously, you too?" Aiden groaned, squeezing his legs together.

"What? You wanna be a dead, shriveled-up guy?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Then think hydrating thoughts!"

"Yeah, Aiden." Maya said. "Think about bathtub faucets, sink faucets—"

"Faucets everywhere!" Lukas shouted, throwing in some dramatic jazz-hands.

"Stop talking about faucets!" Aiden barked. But, thinking he was just being plain sour, they all continued in their game.

"Hydration!" Jesse said, with Reuben squealing in agreeance. "It's a big swimming pool in the middle of the desert!"

As they continued to talk about all things watery, Aiden scooted further into his corner, trying to shut them out. But anyone who's been told, 'Don't think about cats!', would know how hard it was for Aiden to not think about water, even though he didn't want to.

They continued talking about water, and waterslides, and faucets. He plugged his ears and shut his eyes, loudly humming a weird tune that was sure to embarrass him. But now he didn't care about getting embarrassed by simply humming a song. Something far worse lay ahead, something he intended to avoid at all costs.

"Think about the ocean!" Maya sang, making him scowl.

'Think about the desert', Aiden thought, trying to fill his mind with pictures of sand and desert temples or even dry leaves. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shut them out. As the minutes wore on, he started to feel the situation getting more and more... desperate. The pressure was really starting to build, if you know what I mean. But he wasn't going to have things any worse than they already were, and they were going to stop talking about water whether they liked it or not.

"Stop talking about water, you guys!" He demanded, hoping to shut them up. But instead, they got louder. More descriptive. In other words, things got much worse.

"We're not going to stop talking about water! Water is amazing!" Axel shouted.

"Even if we're running out of things to say, we're not going to stop talking about water!" Maya added.

"Water. What is it? Water is a transparent and nearly colorless chemical substance that is the main constituent of Earth's streams, lakes, and oceans, and the fluids of most living organisms. Its chemical formula is H2O, meaning that its molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms, that are connected by covalent bonds. Water strictly refers to the liquid state of that substance, that prevails at standard ambient temperature and pressure; but it often refers also to its solid state (ice) or its gaseous state (steam or water vapor). It also occurs in nature as snow, glaciers, ice packs and icebergs, clouds, fog, dew, aquifers, and atmospheric humidity." Gill declared, getting the entire room to go silent. "You know, you drink it your cup." He concluded.

"Imagine, a glass of ice, filled to the brim with ice-cold water. The glass clinks around in the cup as you pour it. And then you eat a mint and die." Jesse said.

"You guys, stop talking about water or I'll... I'll..."

"Or you'll 'what'?" Axel challenged. Then the room stopped moving once again to stare at Aiden, but not with anger like he'd expected. Instead, they were staring at him with shock and embarrassment. "Are you okay?"

Aiden then realized that he had somehow shifted into the fetal position and was... yeah, I'm not going to finish this sentence. His face went bright red and he straightened, putting on a nonchalant face and looking away. Everyone stared a little longer when it finally donned on them.

"So, that's why you didn't want us all to talk about water..." Gill said as-a-matter-of-factly. Aiden sent him a glare instead of a nod.

"Okay, maybe we should all just be quiet. Or at least talk about something else." Lukas suggested. Everyone seemed to agree, either nodding or muttering a quick 'yeah'. Lukas scooted over a bit to Aiden, leaning to subtly whisper in his ear, "You should've just said something. I would've told them to stop."

"Yeah, but that's embarrassing." He hissed back, turning away with a glare. Lukas sat up on the wall, letting out a bored sigh. He knew he wasn't the first person to think this, but they really needed to get out of the elevator, and now everyone had a great reason to hope their release came soon.

* * *

 **Hope you guys liked that chapter. Once again, I'm sorry for not uploading in such a long time. I'm trying to get updates together, though, so I hope you enjoy this first taste. I'm hoping to update Ocelot Mode and ANFO pretty soon, and in multiple chapters, too! See? I haven't forgotten about you guys! Well, how about some reviews, then?**

 **RebekahTPE: Oh, yes. I still remember it. It was Thanksgiving Eve and my family and I were feeding the homeless at an outreach. I made the mistake of drinking a whole can of Sprite (and I know that sounds small, but I was a kid then, so it was pretty much for me). They ended up making a stop, and it was the most embarrassing thing. To make things better, my friends were in the car with me. And these were some 'cool kids' I was trying to impress. Best day of my life. Not! I've learned my lesson since.**

 **DynamiteHunter6: Got them transferred! Thanks for leaving this review, too. I'd forgotten I'd even uploading anything there. I'll be more careful in the future!**

 **KingKahin99: Alrighty! Keep them coming!**

 **Emily The Avenger: Thanks!**

 **Meow Shadow: Thanks for such a nice review! Lukas as Mary Poppins, eh? Hang on. Hey, Lukas! Meow Shadow thinks you're like Mary Poppins!**

 **Lukas: Really? Is he cool?**

 **Me:… um… yeah?**

 **Lukas: I'm Mary Poppins, y'all! (huge Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) reference).**

 **MissyMattingly: Aww, I forgot to add those in. So sorry! I'll see if I can make up for it in the near future. (evil laughter)**

 **Ariza Luca: Oops… I doubt this helps…. XD**

 **Well, see you guys next chapter! When are they getting out, though? Who knows?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys! And welcome back to Elevator! Before we begin, I'd like to handle the reviews! And, wow, you guys. Wowie. You left me nine reviews! You probably have no idea how happy this makes me feel! So, a big thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing!**

 **Alice Forshadow: Thanks! Hopefully he'll survive this one!**

 **Meow Shadow: Do you mean I'm cool, sweet or mean? And Aiden isn't dying. It's something much worse than death itself. He's embarrassed (thunder claps)! Even Axel knows about his condition. And knowing Aiden to be the proud dude he is, this is** _ **not**_ **good for his image. It's quite comical to think about!**

 **MiekoHiroshima: Thank you!**

 **the indecisive bird: Like Gill said, "seven corpses and a dried-up pig"! Might I add, that smiley face at the end of such a dark review really adds to the effect!**

 **Kaylathegreat559: He hasn't… yet.**

 **Emily The Avenger: Riperoni… I'm going to have to say that more often.**

 **Ariza Luca: Should I show up at the funeral to throw off the police?**

 **KingKahin99: Ah, random question! I don't have many other fandoms besides MCSM, but I think I'd choose to be Krystal. She's from the Starfox: Assault series, and I love her character! I used to really engage in the Starfox fandom, but then I got into Minecraft. Maybe I should write fanfiction for it, even though it doesn't get many games nowadays….**

 **RapidSammi: So glad to see you excited about another update!**

 **Well, hit it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: (hits it)**

"I know I jinxed it last time," Axel began, "but is it still raining?" Like they'd done before, everyone listened closely. Their eyes widened in surprise when they heard nothing. "Wait for it!" Axel shouted, making sure they didn't get their hopes up too high. They waited a few seconds more, but their suspense didn't end with a loud roar of thunder or the pelting of raindrops. Instead, they heard the peaceful sound of birds tweeting to compliment a beautiful, sunny day!

"Wait… how can we hear birds in an elevator?" Olivia asked. They looked and saw Jesse sitting on the floor, tweeting to himself and nervously wringing his hands. When he saw their accusatory stares, he stopped.

"What? I tweet to myself when I'm nervous. It reminds me of nature."

"Hey, I know your phone died, but you think you could try it one more time? Sometimes it works." Olivia said to Maya. The brunette reached into her pocket and pulled out her iBlock, eyeing it hopefully.

"Worth a shot." She said, pressing and holding the power-button. Suddenly, everyone except Lukas and Aiden flocked around her as if they were a storm of ducks and she was holding a morsel of bread. Under any other circumstances, she would've told them (however harshly) to get out of her space-bubble. But she easily understood their desperation. A cheer went up when the phone flashed white, displaying the brand and some startup info.

"Oh, it's not gonna work!" Olivia squealed quietly to herself before Axel kindly shushed her. They crept in closer, waiting for the screen to change to Maya's keypad.

"Please stay on, please stay on, ple—NO! NOOO!" She screamed when the phone turned off. Her sudden outburst made those around her jump like loons and cover their ears. Her brows furrowed and her nose twitched at the sight of the black screen, and she dragged out a loud growl. "STUPID PHONE!" She screamed, chunking it at the wall with her slapping-arm. It bounced off the wall and connected with Lukas's eye with a smack. But they were all too angry to laugh.

"Ow! Maya, Seriously?" Lukas shouted in pain, picking up the phone and holding it out to her. She took her phone with a groan and Lukas slowly rubbed his stinging, purple eye.

"So close." Olivia whined, walking to sit next to Axel while Jesse took a seat next to Reuben, who lay quietly on the floor with heavy-lidded eyes. "I don't get it." Olivia said, looking at her hands in her lap. "If the storm's over, how come the power's not on? It just doesn't make sense."

"Maybe we just have to wait a bit more, then it—"

"Oh, yeah, sure! Let's wait _longer_!" Gill shouted angrily, surprising most of them with his sudden change of attitude. "You know, I wasn't joking about that dead guy. He actually died, you know, and I wanna get out of here, _now_!"

"Gill, just calm down." Lukas said quietly, a hand still over his eye.

"No! Why should I? We've been in here for a really long time, and nothing's happened. No one's come here, the power's not on, and Maya's phone isn't working. We're stuck in here!" He glanced around worriedly at the walls, feeling as if they were suddenly closing in on him.

"I hate to agree, but he does have a point." Olivia said quietly, getting a slightly worried look from Axel. "We've been in here for over an hour now and still nothing's happened. Isn't anyone else worried?"

"We might be worried, but that doesn't mean we should all start freaking out." Lukas said.

"Being worried, freaking out, what's the difference?!" Gill shouted quite loudly, making most of them in the room cover their ears.

"Being worried is a lot quieter!" Jesse answered. "I know you guys are all getting a bit scared, and—"

"I'm not scared!" Aiden suddenly shouted, glaring at Jesse whilst holding his crotch. " _You're_ scared!" He said, pointing at Jesse.

Jesse looked Aiden's stature over, blushing in the slightest with embarrassment and rubbing his neck. "Y-yeah, you… yeah." He said, gradually looking away and at the ceiling. Well, that was an image he'd never be able to un-see. He cleared his throat and continued, however awkward he suddenly felt. "I know _some_ of you guys _might_ be getting a bit… nervous, but I'm still really optimistic that we're all getting out of here pretty soon."

"How?" Maya asked skeptically. Jesse bit his lip, glancing down at his hands as he fiddled them in his lap.

"Um… I don't know, but—"

"Exactly!" She shouted as if she was a detective and she'd caught Jesse in some defaming act. She glowered at Lukas and Jesse. "This is _exactly_ why I said we shouldn't go to the mall today! I just _knew_ this was going to happen! But you three didn't listen, did you?"

Gill dragged out a long groan, dropping his face in his hands. "Maya, _you_ were the one who _insisted_ we visit the mall today. Big makeup sale today that you wouldn't miss on your life. Ring a bell?"

"Yeah? Well, none of you tried to stop me!"

"Believe me, we tried." Aiden griped.

"Guys, that's enough. It doesn't matter who recommended going to the mall or not. None of us could've seen this coming." Lukas said.

"Yeah, what matters is that we're stuck in here for the rest of our lives." Gill muttered. He sent Maya and Olivia a disgusted look and saw his life flash before his eyes. His married life. "That means I'm gonna have to get married to one of you two!" He groaned, getting surprised looks from everyone in the room. "What are our kids gonna look like?"

"Wow, you went from point A to point Z in, like, five seconds." Axel muttered to himself.

"Gill, calm down!" Jesse shouted in a firm voice. "We're _not_ going to die, we're _not_ going to be stuck in here forever, and nobody's getting married!"

"Ditto on not getting married." Olivia said as if she was on the verge of throwing up.

"Just calm down, okay? Why don't we try talking about… um…."

"You know what? I'm gonna go sit over here. I don't feel like talking." Gill interrupted, walking over to Lukas and Aiden.

"Yeah, me, too." Maya said, doing the same. Jesse frowned sadly as they left, leaving him with almost no one to talk to. He felt Olivia place a hand on his shoulder.

"They're right. We should all just be quiet and think clearly." Olivia said. Jesse nodded. If they weren't going to be doing any talking, maybe he could play quietly with Reuben. He glanced at his pig-friend who slept quietly beside him. Not wanting to wake him, Jesse simply stroked the soft fur on his head. Reuben shuffled awake with a quiet snort, but Jesse smiled at him. Reuben rose to his hooves and wearily climbed into Jesse's lap. Jesse's smile disappeared once he got a better look at Reuben's "tired" eyes. The tiredness was definitely there, but along with it was a look of illness. Jesse held Reuben up, looking directly into his face. "You okay, buddy?" He asked. Reuben responded with a weak, sick squeal that Axel and Olivia heard since they were sitting so close together.

"Is something wrong with Reuben?" Olivia asked, scanning their pink friend over.

"Aw, he looks terrible!" Axel exclaimed. "Did he eat anything wrong?"

"No. I only fed him a few carrots today. Did you feed him anything, Olivia?"

"Nope."

Jesse and Reuben locked eyes before Jesse gradually put him back into his lap. Reuben burrowed in, trying to find sleep. He was a heap of fire in Jesse's lap, both temperature- and worry-wise. Being bored in an elevator was one thing. But having a suddenly sick friend, even if he was a pig, was another. Axel saw the worry in Jesse's eyes as he idly stroked Reuben's back.

"Or maybe he's just bored." He quickly said. "You know, pigs need their space. Maybe he's just too cramped in here." He said, casting Jesse a hopeful grin. Jesse nodded, keeping his eyes on Reuben.

"I sure hope so."

 **First, I'd like to apologize to the hopeful OliviaXGill shippers. They will not be getting married. XD That was a joke, but if there are any Gillivia shippers, then shout out! I don't ship it, but I'd just like to see who does. Or just say if you have an obscure ship. My obscure ship is AidenXPetra.**

 **So, that's that! But what do you think is wrong with Reuben? Is he sick, or just plain bored? And when, oh when, will our friends and foes get out of that elevator? Only time will tell.**

 **Crisper:… (grabs a clock) TELL ME NOW!1!**

 **Me: Whoa, buddy! (closes it)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Before I go any further, I'd like everyone to stop and look. And dab, if you will (DAB!). Look at those follows. Look at those favs. Look at those reviews. And on a FIVE-CHAPTER STORY?! Well, six now, but… You GUYS! I had no idea this story would get so much love from you guys! Thank you! I seriously don't know what to say. Like, seriously, I don't. I sound kind of dumb just saying 'Thank you' over and over again, so… why don't we get to the update instead? Hit it, Crisper! DAB!**

 **Crisper: DAB! (hits it)**

* * *

If he didn't have Reuben to worry about, Jesse would've counted the next half-hour or so of waiting as boring. The groups were split back in two, Ocelots and Pigs, and no one spoke a word. Even though he was sitting still on his side of the room, Jesse's nervous energy endlessly bubbled for Reuben's health. He hadn't worsened any, but that still didn't mean he was in good condition. For now, he was drifting in and out of a restless sleep, a little bit better than a dizzy zombie. Jesse released a bored, heavy sigh and slumped on the walls of the elevator, gazing wistfully at the doors. When would they slide open and let them all go home?

"Hey, Jesse," Axel whispered. Jesse glanced at him. "You wanna play redhands?"

Jesse wanted to play, but he shook his head. "Can't. Reuben's sleeping in my lap, so, I can't move." He whispered back. Axel crawled on all fours to Olivia.

"Do you want to play redhands?"

"No, Axel. You'll just hurt my hands." She quietly snapped back, wondering why he'd even asked her of all people.

"But that's the point of the game!" He whined, but Olivia shook her head. Axel crawled back to his spot, feeling a bit bummed and much more bored. He glanced at Gill who sat across him, his knees drawn to his chest and a worried look on his face. "Psst, Gill!"

"What?"

"You wanna play redhands?"

"Sure, I guess." He agreed. He scooted over to Axel and held out his hand, palm facing down. Axel raised his hand high over Gill's, the bearded man trying not to show any emotion. With a start, Jesse's mind suddenly realized the impending disaster.

"Guys, I don't think you should—" Before Jesse could voice his concerns, Axel slammed his hand down on Gill's with a loud slap that made everyone flinch and wince in pain at the same time (Aiden was really unhappy to flinch). Gill let out a hissing, silent cry, doubling over and clutching his hand.

"What the heck was _that_ for?!" Maya shouted, rushing over to Gill while the other Ocelots sent Axel defensive glares.

"He told me to do it." Axel shrugged.

"Yeah, right! Why would he tell you to hit him?!" She and Gill's eyes met, and from the guilty look on his face she knew what happened. "Why would you tell him to hit you, you idiot?!"

"We were playing redhands! It's a guy's thing, okay? Stop babying me!" Gill defended, blinking away tears at the same time.

"Gill, have you _seen_ his hands?! They're huge!" She shouted scoldingly. Gill sighed and rolled his eyes, starting to sit up. He held his red, swollen hand to his chest as he hobbled back to his spot.

"Hey, my hands aren't _that_ big!" Axel shouted, though he hid his hands under his arms at her remark. He scooted back to the wall, but Maya was far from finished.

"I can't believe you two! Look at what you did to his hand, you jerk!" She shouted, even though no one had seen Gill's hand yet.

"Maya, I think you may be overreacting. I'm sure his hand's fine." Lukas said calmly. Gill finally revealed his hand, and Maya gasped at how red and swollen it was. Gill pursed his lips and quietly slid it back into his jacket.

"I am never playing redhands again." He murmured to himself.

"Look at what you did!" Maya shouted again, storming over to Axel.

"Maya, calm down! My hand's just a bit swollen, geez!"

"Yeah, besides, I didn't _mean_ it! It just sort of… happened." Axel added.

"Yeah, like the power going out." Jesse said. The silence seemed to shoot up in intensity, and Jesse instantly regretted what he said. Their eyes bored into him, especially Aiden, Maya's and Gill's.

"Oh, and like you brought an entire pig with you, but not a phone." Gill complained.

"You're still mad at me about that?"

"Of course, he is! All of us are! What did you think? We all forgot or something? We don't have short-term memory loss like you and your dumb friends!" Maya yelled.

"Hey, watch it! We don't have short-term memory loss, and we sure aren't dumb!" Olivia fought back. "I'll have you know, I'm a straight-A student, and not because I make other people do my homework, thank you!"

"Shots fired." Axel muttered.

"And just when we were starting to get along." Jesse murmured back, hanging his head with disappointment.

"Oh, I forgot you were such a nerd." She spat. "Hey, genius, if you're all this and that about numbers, why didn't you bring any gadgets with you? Like a phone, for instance?"

"I didn't bring my phone because it's missing!"

"Well, can't you just whip together a phone-finding machine? Or, even better, hotwire the elevator or something! _Oh_ , you can't, can you?"

"That's enough, Maya!" Lukas yelled. His sudden, loud outburst made Aiden flinch. The brunette gave an annoyed, worrisome whimper as he tensed up even more. Maya sent Olivia a harsh glare, spun on her heels, and marched back to her side of the elevator.

"I hate this place."

"Well, you aren't the only one, and yelling at people and blaming them isn't going to help anything, so, calm down!"

"Well, neither is redhands! Which is why I'm sick of being stuck in here with these _losers_! And I tried to play along, but it sure rubs off the wrong way after a few _hours_!"

"She's right, Lukas. This just sucks! I wanna go home and play with my cat." Gill agreed.

"Your _cat_?" Aiden accused. Gill's eyes went wide and he shrank down and looked away. "You still have that thing after we all told you I was allergic to cats?!"

"It's _my_ cat!"

"I've been sneezing like a madman! And now we all know why!"

As the Ocelots argued loudly and harshly, Jesse sighed, burying his head into Reuben's soft back and accidentally waking him up. Trashy words were thrown around, piling into a huge mess that none of them could ignore. He looked up and saw Olivia sitting with her knees up to her chest and a frown on her face, no doubt musing over Maya's words. Axel couldn't stop staring at his hands, wondering if they were really _huge_. Jesse didn't regret not fully trusting those Ocelots. He didn't care that it was because they were all getting too antsy. What mattered were that his friends were hurting. But the bullies sitting with him just weren't a good reason to need the elevator. Fate had something different in store for him.

Reuben suddenly convulsed in his lap, jerking out of his sleep with a troubled oink. Jesse's eyes widened in worry as Reuben shakily stood to his little legs. "No, Reuben, lie down. What's wrong, buddy?" Confusion seemed to numb Reuben's senses as Reuben glanced around, as if asking where he was and what was going on. He wouldn't listen to the sound of Jesse's voice. He forced his way out of his worried owner's arms and skittered over to a free corner. Jesse's heart jumped at the sound of him emptying his stomach, and everyone else seemed to go quiet.

"Is he throwing up?" Olivia asked just before another oink-like retch sounded out. Jesse quickly scooted over to Reuben, too stunned to do anything but gently pat his back. The Ocelots were completely quiet, a surprising move for them, Jesse thought. But even if they were arguing still, he wouldn't be able to care less. Reuben was the only thing that mattered right now.

A thousand questions flurried around Jesse's frantic mind. Had he eaten something? Were those carrots expired or something? _Did_ carrots expire? Another strong heave snapped him out of his thoughts. Jesse never imagined so much could come out of such a small animal, and the growing puddle on the floor frightened him. Jesse couldn't even remember a time when Reuben had thrown up. What was going on?

Finally, Reuben seemed to stop, his body shaking as he panted heavily with his head hung. Being sick wasn't easy work. The whole room waited in silence on the edge of their carpets. He slowly gazed at Jesse, a look on his face voicing pain, illness and weariness. Jesse began to reach out, but Reuben suddenly turned back to the puddle and heaved almost violently, his little body jerking with it. He heard Axel and Olivia shifting beside him, either to watch Reuben or comfort the both of them, but undoubtedly feeling just as helpless as Jesse. Reuben choked out a short series of oink-like whimpers before he suddenly convulsed again. Unlike the others, this one lasted more than a few seconds, as if he was choking. Jesse tried to reach out for his breathless friend, but not before Reuben threw up something that hit the floor with a surprising plop.

"Oh, my Notch," Olivia whispered, slowly putting a hand to her mouth. Axel craned his head to get a better look. Jesse remained frozen in place, eyes wide with shock and arms shaking slightly.

"R-Reuben?!"

* * *

 **Oh my gosh. Cliffhanger much. RapidSammi, TealEmpress, Alice Forshadow, congratulations! You've made it to the "Correct Predictions Club"! And I have some prizes for you! (hands each of you a carrot)**

 **Isa: You have made me proud!**

 **And, LostSoul508, you've made it onto the club as an honorary member! You didn't say he was sick-sick, but you** _ **did**_ **say he was sick of boredom, so that counts! Have a carrot!**

 **Isa: (is crying tears of joy)**

 **And to everyone who read this story, (deep breath) YOU GET A CARROT! YOU GET A CARROT! EVERYONE GETS A CARROT!**

 **Isa: (is too fulfilled to be true)**

 **Saved the reviews for last, because I was just too hyped! But I'm calmed.**

 **MiekoHiroshima: You can, can you? They sound like quite the bunch!**

 **Alice Forshadow: (reads your review and realizes I've crushed your dreams about Reuben's health) Whoops! #Sorrynotsorry! You ship Gill with Olivia? I'll have to try that sometime, even though my ships have been slightly rearranged by Season 2. Yep. I'm starting to ship Olivia with Radar, so, even my Axlivia's going down the drain, even though I don't really ship that anymore anyways. Radivia for the win (I think)! Also some PetraXJack. Too soon? Probably.**

 **Shadow who Speaks: Oh, okay! A wedding service in an elevator… that's one short runway. Just one more thing: Lukesse may be a frequenting ship in our fandom, but that doesn't make you typical. It's what you do with the ship that makes it interesting. Like what I did with tweeting Jesse (which I'm glad you enjoyed)!**

 **Emily The Avenger: Gill sure wasn't laughing. xD**

 **the indecisive bird: That would certainly be unexpected of Gill. The scientific reason the kids haven't suffocated yet is due to Jesse's Protagonist Immunity… it's slowly wearing off as I speak, actually, so—**

 **RapidSammi: Ah, ship obsession. Not a surprising facet of us fangirls.**

 **TealEmpress: Haha! *is suddenly tempted to draw Gillivia fanart, what have you done to me?* Don't feel bad for not reviewing before. I love, love, LOVE your reviews, but I don't want you or anyone to feel forced to review. Review-guilting is NOT cool.**

 **Well, I'll see you guys in the next update, which should be soon. But not too soon. Wouldn't wanna kill off that suspense, now would we? Close it, Crisper!**

 **Crisper: Alrighty! (closes it)**


	7. Chapter 7

**DAB! Welcome to the final chapter of "Elevator"! WHOO! A big, BIG thank you to everyone who's read, reviewed, fav'd or followed this story! Writing wouldn't be this fun without you guys! For a seven-chapter story, 48 REVIEWS WASN'T SOMETHING I'D ANTICIPATED, MY GOODNESS! And let's not forget to mention 12 FOLLOWS AND FOURTEEN FAVORITES, YOU GUYZ! DAB! Jeez Louise!**

 **Crisper: But why those dabs, though?**

 **It's because I'm feeling DABtastic! DAB! Seriously, though, I have no idea why I'm suddenly feeling so DAB-ilicious. Well, let's hit some reviews before we get started!**

 **Emily The Avenger: Hmm, maybe this chapter should clear things up.**

 **LostSoul508: (This review filled Reuben with determination) (sorry, I had to! xD)**

 **RapidSammi: Well, tell your soul to hurt no more! As for Petra, she's probably out mining, imagining her friends are enjoying their day. Boy, is she wrong.**

 **TealEmpress: I can totally agree with you, except Aiden hasn't had his accident. Yet. (the word 'yet' echoes down the halls). I guess I've tortured them long enough, though… time to save these kids! (throws on crappy superhero-suit and whooshes down)**

 **Alice Forshadow (Guest): Oh my gosh! I can't believe you remember that episode! I'm so happy right now! I should probably get back to the Random Roulette soon, shouldn't I? Hopefully, I'll be able to. Enjoy your carrot and the story!**

 **DAB! Well, hit it, Crisper! Go ahead and DAB if you'd like—**

 **Crisper: No, thanks. (hits it)**

 **DAB!**

* * *

Reuben gave a few last piggy-coughs before he shakily turned around and lobbed himself into Jesse's lap, his whole body growing and shrinking with his labored breathing. Jesse idly reached up to stroke Reuben's furry head, his eyes fixed on the puddle. Even Maya, Gill and Lukas stood to see what the staring was about, with Aiden leaning over as much as he could without putting himself under too much pressure. Maya gasped.

"Hey, we found your phone, Olivia." Axel said quietly. Olivia stared straight ahead. "Well? Go ahead and grab it." Olivia sent him a glare, and then sighed in defeat. She reached out and tried to snag her phone with her nails. She tried to avoid the mess of carrots pooled around it, but she eventually managed to pull it out. She held it by a corner in the room, and a chorus of 'ewe's rose up.

"Does anyone have a paper towel or something?" She asked as she stared at her drippy phone. Jesse gently shuffled to his backpack, rummaging around a bit before he found a soft, pink blankie he brought for Reuben. He handed it to Olivia and she dropped it in and massaged her phone. Seconds later, she pulled it out and looked it over. The smell of vomit seemed to radiate around the room and she hoped the smell wouldn't hold onto her phone. When she happened to glance up, she saw three eager Ocelots towering over her. She quickly looked at her phone and pressed the power button. Her phone really hurt Reuben. She hoped Reuben hadn't done the same to her phone.

"Come on, come on, come on," she droned as they waited on the black-screen. The seconds seemed to lag like soul-sand. A picture of a cute puppy flooded the screen, and everyone shouted with joy. Reuben flinched in Jesse's lap, but Jesse scooped him up like he was a prized child.

"Reuben, we have a phone!" He shouted joyously. The still nauseous Reuben was quick to give a response. Jesse held his breath and closed his eyes when he was suddenly showered with water and chewed-up carrots. Jesse could hear Aiden guffawing behind him when Reuben stopped after a few seconds. Olivia feebly reached up to wipe the vomit from his tightly-shut eyes and friendly laughter began to spread. Jesse managed a smile as Reuben gazed drowsily at him. He lowered him to his chest, gently patting his back. "I need a shower."

"Think I should call 9-1-1?" Olivia asked.

"No, call my mom instead." Gill joked dryly. Still overjoyed, Olivia felt she could ignore his sarcasm for now as she quickly dialed the number. They watched with anticipation as Olivia held the phone to her ear. "We're going home, man!" Gill squealed, delivering a hearty slap to Lukas's shoulder. "Man, I can't wait to get home. I'm gonna take a nap. What about you?"

"Maybe write something, breathe a little fresh air."

"Cool. How 'bout you, Aiden? Use the bathroom? You know, if you haven't already. Have you?" His smile melted at Aiden's fiery glare. The brunette, still holding himself dearly, slowly shook his head. "Oh… just asking. Um, how about you, Maya?" Maya excitedly jumped up and down in a corner, happier than a puppy and a bone, and squealing too loudly to hear anything. "Yeah, I guess she's doing that."

"How long?... ten minutes? Great!" Olivia waited for another answer from the phone. "Alright. Thank you." She pulled the phone away from her ear and squealed with delight. "They're coming here in ten minutes, guys!"

"Yes! Yess!" Axel shouted, pumping the air with both fists.

"Sounds good, because this place smells _horrible_." Lukas said, pinching his nose.

"You have no idea." Jesse said from the floor, his face still sticky with vomit. He sent Reuben a playful glare. "I still can't believe you ate a phone today, Reuben. Do I not feed you enough?" Reuben sat up and returned a lighthearted oink, feeling much better than before. Jesse chuckled softly.

"I need to put it up higher, then." Olivia said, sliding the phone into her back pocket and frowning slightly. "It was in my room on the bed. I didn't think he'd go in there. And why would he eat a _phone_ of all things?"

"Maybe he thought it looked nice. You _do_ have all those pretty, red beads all over it. Maybe he thought it was candy." Axel guessed. "When we get home, I'm gonna get a snack. I think I left some cake in the pantry or something. We should celebrate."

Olivia was about to answer, but her nose curled at the smell of vomit. "If I'm hungry then. _Maybe_."

"Whatever you say, Liv."

Jesse's concerned eyes studied Olivia's still sickened face, the girl trying to avoid looking at the puddle. "You don't look too good, Olivia." He said nervously.

"Oh, don't tell me _she's_ about to throw up, too?" Maya whined, though she didn't sound as full of spite as they'd expected. Everyone readily agreed with her, not wanting another odor filling the room.

"Could you clean that up?" She asked as she scooted away from it. Jesse picked up Reuben's pink blanket and tossed it over the puddle. He cautiously placed both hands on it and massaged it into the carpet.

"Gross!" Maya hissed silently. The harder Jesse rubbed the carpet, the more his stomach seemed to float. He suddenly stopped, clamping a hand over his mouth. Of course, the only few times Reuben threw up it was outside on the grass and he didn't have to clean it. This was a new, and nauseating, experience for him. He gagged lightly and the entire room flinched.

"Okay, good job, Jesse. I'll handle it!" Axel rambled, hastily grabbing Jesse and shoving him aside. He dug his large fists into the carpet and scrubbed it out. Within minutes, the carpet had less of an odor and looked clean, though it wasn't that way for the once-pink blanket. He folded it into a loose, lumpy ball. Jesse's face fell and his stomach rose when Axel decided to stuff the smelly, stained blanket into his backpack.

"Really, though?" He muttered under his breath, even though he was glad that the stench was nearly gone. He tried to breathe out the nausea and focus on how much fun it would be to get home and have a nice, warm bath while cold, refreshing rain poured outside.

"You know, that reminds me of something. My cousin's parents bought her a little dog once," Axel said, catching his friends' and the Ocelots' attention, "and one day it threw up. Since it was her dog, they made her clean it up. But while she was cleaning it, she got sick and threw up."

"Axel, could you _please_ talk about something else?" Olivia asked.

"No, don't worry, it gets better. So, her mom had to go clean up dog puke _and_ kid puke. While she was cleaning, _she_ threw up! So, my cousin's dad had to clean up all the puke. That's all." Gill laughed a bit, but Axel saw that his joke made most everyone in the room turn green.

"Axel, you said this story was going to get better!"

"Olivia, it's Axel." Jesse stated.

Gill grinned at Lukas. "I can just imagine how terrible it would've been if—"

"No." Lukas interrupted sternly.

"But I was just going to—"

"I don't want to hear it."

"But it's funny."

"Then you can tell me later when I'm feeling better."

"Okay." Gill stood beside him, idly glancing around but trying not to stare at anyone, and Lukas did the same. Gill's joke gnawed at his insides, begging to be let free. It was such a clever joke, and he thought it would be a downright sin not to let it be heard. The fight inside him didn't last long. "Lukas, what if the dad called the in-laws instead, and they threw up all over the place, too?" Lukas sent him a hard glare that somewhat surprised Gill. "Come on, don't tell me you're that weak-stomached? It's just a simple joke."

"It's not me I'm concerned about, Gill." He said. "Do you really want the room to smell worse than it does right now?" He asked, subtly pointing at Jesse and Olivia.

"Then breathe through your mouth."

Lukas rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Gill. Just no more puke-jokes in here."

"Fine, sure. I'm gonna go sit over there with Aiden." Gill went and sat next to a still-glaring Aiden. "Hey, Aiden. What are you doing under there?"

"Under where?" Aiden simple answer made Gill give a loud _ha_ that caught everyone's attention. Aiden realized his nose scrunched like a mean note in a classroom. "I swear when we get out of here…."

"Whoa, no need to get mad. It was just a joke."

"Don't start arguing, guys! Just be glad we're finally getting out of this horrible place!" Maya shouted. "I can finally go home and charge my phone!" She sang dreamily, stroking the smooth surface of her phone case like it was a baby's cheek. She noticed her friends staring at her and blushed slightly. "Of course, that's not the _only_ reason I want to go home. I have other things to do." She stuttered, shoving her phone back into her pocket.

Suddenly the elevator shifted and creaked, and the natural lights flickered back on. Jesse sucked in and held his breath in suspense. A cheer swelled when they all felt the elevator going up after the long wait. New energy surged through Jesse's leg, and he would've stood up and jumped if he wasn't holding a sick, yet excited, Reuben. Seconds later, the elevator dinged as it reached the third floor, and the doors slid open. A young tech peeked around the doors where he kneeled at the buttons pad, and the store owner waited anxiously in front of the doors. Two paramedics quickly made their way to them.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Freedom!" Axel shouted, about to ram his way through the doors before Maya stood to her feet and blocked him.

"Nope! Ladies first!" She said. She strutted out and Olivia sent Axel a shrug as she walked through second. Lukas and Jesse rushed out, and Gill had to wait for Axel before he got out. Lukas exhaled deeply and stretched his long arms and legs, and Gill stood right behind him doing the same.

"It is so good to be out!" He breathed. Suddenly, Gill released a piercing, erratic scream that shattered Lukas's eardrum and made everyone else flinch. He jammed a finger into his ringing ear and spun around to glare at a relieved-looking Gill. "What is _wrong_ with you?!" He shouted as one of the paramedics rushed up to assess their "disturbed" patient.

"No, it's okay, guys," Gill said, gently warding the medic off and grinning sheepishly at Lukas, "I just had to get that out of my system."

"Yeah, me, too." Axel said, filling his lungs with air. But he held his breath when Olivia sent him a sharp, warning glare. Lukas continued rubbing his ear as he turned around to face the elevator.

"Aiden, you coming out anytime soon?" He asked.

"G-give me a second!" Came the slightly anguished reply. The second paramedic rushed in to do his job. He saw Aiden still sitting in his corner and crouching like there was no tomorrow. Their eyes met and Aiden resisted the urge to glare at the rudely-staring face.

"What do _you_ want?" He murmured.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I just need to get up."

"Here, let me help!" He quickly moved towards the brunette and locked arms with him. "Ready?"

"Yeah. Just don't go too—" The paramedic suddenly stood to his feet.

Outside, the rest of them flinched when a curse suddenly hissed out, followed by profuse apologies from the medic. Out of the elevator stomped a furious, red-faced Aiden whose pants looked a bit darker than before. "Aiden, are you okay?"

"Let's just go home." He snapped, sure he smelled no better than Jesse at the moment. Lukas caught a glance at his pants and said no more.

"Is that just a faulty elevator or something? They shouldn't just crash like that, you know." Olivia told a slightly anxious store owner as she and her friends stood around. The man in yellow shirt and blue-jeans held back a sigh and gave a pink-faced grin.

"I do apologize for what happened today. But I'm just so glad you had a phone in there! The elevator turns out to be faulty, like a few other things in the store, which is why we had the sale today."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Axel snarled, not appreciative of their elevator-escapade that day.

Jesse frowned his way, still holding close a sleeping Reuben. "Axel, don't be mad at him. It's not his fault. You were saying?"

"Oh, y-yes. We were having that huge sale today to clear out the store. We were planning to close down for a huge remodeling, and to fix up the broken things around here which, I guess, includes that there elevator." A relieved sigh escaped him. "You must be some lucky ones to have had that phone. Otherwise, you would've been stuck in there for the entirety of the remodeling!"

"Wait, you guys were going to remodel the store?" Lukas asked as he, Gill and Maya walked over.

"Yes. It would've taken… hmm… a month!" Gill looked like he'd seen a ghost, his face going pale as he gazed at Lukas with surprise. "Assuming you didn't have water, it would've been… tragic, to say the least."

"You would've had three days at most." The paramedic said.

Gill and Lukas stared at each other with wide, open mouths and eyes. "Duuude…." Gill said. "I totally predicted the future!" He whispered. Lukas nodded stunnedly.

"Well, the good news is that we managed to clear out everything in the store today, so we can get to remodeling pretty soon. We only have one or two swords left over, our more expensive ones. I'm not sure if any of you would like one, but I'd be willing to give them away as an apology for all of this."

Jesse's hand shot high into the air, his face brighter than the house lights. "Sure! I'd take it!" The owner pulled the sword out of his inventory (don't ask how), and when Jesse saw that it was the same design he'd envied that day, tears sprung into his eyes. He grabbed the sword by the handle, and it nearly fell to the floor. "Wow, she's heavy!" He said gleefully. "Well, thanks for the sword! Let's go home, guys." Jesse said. He, Olivia and Axel walked to the doors, followed closely by the Ocelots. They stepped outside into gently pouring rain, and the fresh air welcomed them back.

"That is _so_ nice!" Olivia breathed.

"I'm still taking a shower, you know." Jesse commented. He caught sight of Lukas, walking through the parking lot with his friends. "Bye, Lukas!"

The blonde looked up and waved with a friendly grin. "Bye, Jesse!"

"Hey!" Gill shouted, catching the Pigs' attention. "Just so you know, we're not buddy-buddies, alright? Nothing happened!"

"You've got it!" Axel shouted over his shoulder.

"And I know that we were stuck in the elevator together and stuff, but when I say 'nothing happened', I mean _pretend_ that nothing happened!"

"I said, 'You've got it'!" Axel yelled again, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Alright, goodbye!"

"He means 'good riddance'!" Maya sneered.

"Oh, right! Good riddance, losers!"

"You, too, Gill!" Olivia yelled. She and Axel huddled closer to Jesse, the boy catching a glimpse of Lukas scolding Maya and Gill. "You know? It's kind of weird acting like nothing happened."

"Yeah. Like, I know we weren't friends in there and stuff, but we were actually… _joking_ together. It's gonna stick with us for the rest of our lives."

Jesse thought about that. Whenever Gill or Aiden would bully his about his short height (even though Jesse and Aiden were the same height), or Maya would tell Olivia she's ugly or Axel that he's stupid, they'd flash back to the one better day in their lives. The day they joked and played together in the confines of a broken elevator. He fully expected the bullying to continue after today, but he wondered how long the memories of this day would stay. "Well, there's one thing for sure I don't want to remember from this day."

"What's that?"

Jesse smiled at both of his friends, then Reuben. "The way I smell." They burst into laughter as they walked together in the rain. Jesse was going to take two showers today. One at home, and one as he walked in the rain with his friends.

* * *

 **So, there you have it, folksies! Elevator!**

 **Some pun trivia! I originally called this ficlet "Elevator" because I couldn't think of a better name (remember when it was called "Elevator (Title May Change)?"). After a few months, the name sort of just stuck! And now I realized the stunning truth! It's called "Elevator" because the characters get stuck in an elevator, but** _ **also**_ **because this is a humorous story that will "elevate" you! So now I know the name** _ **totally**_ **fits! And it's kind of a pun, too. So, punny trivia!**

 **I hereby announce LittleAngelbun, ChocoDrake and Ariza Luca members of the "Paying Attention to the Story (or maybe Gamer's too obvious) Club!". Right after I uploaded chapter six, you guys were like "Reuben ate someone's phone". Since all three of you correctly guessed it as Olivia's phone, you all get Premium Membership! And a lifetime supply of carrots from Isa herself! Enjoy!**

 **Thanks for reading this story, you guys! The story's complete, but that doesn't mean you don't need to keep following! If you enjoyed "Elevator", you're going to like what I intend to upload yet. It's Season 2-related, so I think you'll all enjoy! See you then! Close it, Crisper! Close it for good.**

 **Crisper: (closes it for good)**


End file.
